Dear Editor:
Last year all governments spoke of the need for accessible and affordable housing in Canada.
Our mayor, during the election, outlined a variety of options that might include smaller homes, container homes, etc. And there are many singles, young people starting out, senior couple/ singles, the newly divorced and many more who find rentals very steep and buying out of sight.
In last week’s Advertiser I read about planned homes/apartments in Centre Wellington: two four-storey apartment buildings proposed for St. Andrew Street, the 100-plus home development on the golf course, and then suggested prices for the stacked townhouses behind New to You at $650,000 each … so do we or do we not need accessible housing in Fergus-Elora?
I am guessing that these just mentioned do not fit the bill. We have two subdivisions called Storybrook and South River for which $900,000 or more would be the entrance ticket.
Now Habitat to its credit will be building apartment units on Garafraxa West – a start to meet a need; by the way, there are so far 90 applicants for the approximately 30 units. Need not met: based on the building in Centre Wellington, it appears that the affluent or those with a really good cash flow will be satisfied.
Who decides what housing will be built? Is it the developers who say “let’s build this” or does our elected council have any say what-soever as to design or even needs of our population? Add in planning and design and approval time, and years might be used up. Seems that is not good enough when adequate affordable housing is needed now.
There are, as I write, underused/for sale properties on Beatty Line, Hill Street West – even a few churches in town have spaces for smaller or creative housing that could be rented. What an outreach that could be. Are there unused warehouse or factories that could be refitted?
Is there anyone in this town who is devoted to making a difference or concerted effort to expand our housing choices, rather than letting the richer have housing?
Dave Jones,
Fergus